Must Have Mods?

[TrevIsYoPaja]

I have played oblivion and skyrim on console for awhile and i just bought oblivion for my pc so i could use mods. Its downloading now and while im waiting im wondering if there are any "must have" mods for mod managers for the game.

[Nitefox98]

It all depends on what you want to do and how much you want to change the game. This thread I've been working on makes the game look and sound a lot better, but doesn't change or add much as far as content of the core game.

 

TESCosi is a good knowledge base on how to get started.

 

If you played oblivion a lot on the console and want to completely overhaul the game, I'd still start with the basics in my guide, then move on to FCOM or Nehrim's or some of the other mods that change almost everything. It's definitely a learning process, lol.

[Lanceor]

My usual copy/paste:

 

Everyone has their individual preferences so it's hard to recommend particular mods without knowing what you like.

 

To start with, most people will recommend the Unofficial Patches. These fix a lot of bugs and annoyances that Bethesda had missed.

 

The Unofficial Oblivion Patch

The Unofficial Oblivion Patch Supplemental

The Unofficial Official Mods Patch

The Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch

 

Almost all complex mods require The Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE) to function properly so that may be your next step.

 

If you're going to have more than a couple of mods, Oblivion mod manager will help you arrange your load order. If you're going to have a lot more than a couple, Better Oblivion Sorting Software - BOSS will auto-order most of the mods based on the collective experience of experienced mod users.

 

After that, check the Top 100 for the most popular mods. Or, if you have an idea of what interests you, look through the categories that appeal to you. You can sort them by Endorsements or Downloads to check which ones are the most liked or most popular.

 

If yu haven't played through Oblivion though, many would suggest not adding mods until you've played Oblivion for a while and have an idea what would improve your gameplay the most.

 

Have fun with the mods!

[Rennn]

Must-have mods:

1 ) I love the Unique Landscapes series. It really revitalizes the game, but it may not be compatible with a lot of other overhauls (though it works with most other individual mods).

 

2 ) OBSE is a must-have, for sure. Almost every large, high-grade mod relies on it.

 

3 ) Since you've played on consoles already, I can't recommend Alternative Beginnings highly enough! It lets you delay the boring dungeon tutorial quest and instead pick a small origin story for your character. You can start as a Necromancer, a shipwrecked sailor, and many more. It makes new profiles much more fun, which you'll probably like if you've played the intro dungeon a couple times already. It's also compatible with nearly everything.

 

Now for the runner-ups: These aren't must-haves, but just mods I like.

1 )Midas Magic greatly expands and improves magic. It's easy to install and uninstall as well.

2 )Really Textured Normal Maps for Vanilla is a nice texture mod that should only hit performance by a slight amount, but it makes the game look much better.

3 )Darker Nights and Fading Torches are nice for immersion, but not really needed.

4 )CM Companions and/or Companion Vilja are probably the best companion mods, though they're radically different styles and both are compatible with each other.

5 ) Deadly Reflex is a runner-up because it has so many requirements and it's so hard to install, but it's a great combat mod.

6 ) Natural faces will eliminate some of the "potato-head" appearance of the NPCs by increasing face resolution.

7 ) Open Cities will hit your performance, but it's a great mod. Too bad it has so many conflicts with other mods.

8 ) ImpeREAL Forts is epic, but it's small and doesn't impact the game much in general.

9 ) 28 Days (version 2, since version 4 is still buggy), is great if you like zombies. Non-zombie fans won't like it so much, since it's all about dynamic zombie swarms.

10 ) P-froggy's climbing mod isn't perfect, but it's a nice Daggerfall-esque ability.

11 ) Better Dungeons will be compatible with almost anything, and it's an amazing cave overhaul mod.

12 ) The Real Swords series adds a vast amount of loot to the levelled lists.

 

Also, I need to comment: The unofficial Oblivion patch conflicts with a few very good mods. I'd wait until you know if it's needed before you download it.

Edited December 30, 2011 by Rennn